Taobao Shopping Guide: Home and Living

Decorating your home can get pretty expensive (and limited) around here, but thankfully, you can always turn to Taobao for a whole host of home decoration options. From Scandinavian-style rugs to classy homeware, here are some tasteful (and inexpensive) home items to spruce your place up.

Silver frames like these would easily cost much more at local retailers (*cough* Crate and Barrel *cough*), but Taobao has many cheaper alternatives (even with shipping fees included). This particular seller (link above) does made-to-order frames as well, so you can chat with them if you want a specific size or finishing.

Need to add some colour to your home? These cute flower vases (which come with a choice of white, pink or green artificial roses) will look great on your dining or hallway table. And as an added bonus, these flowers don’t have to be watered. #lazypeoplehacks

Aroma therapy sets not only make your home smell like a spa (aka atas), but also add a cozy touch to any living space. This particular set comes with the scent sticks, jar and a bottle of aroma therapy oil. If you already have one too many aroma therapy sets at home, this also makes for a good gift – just put it in a nice gift bag and no one will know it’s from Taobao hiak hiak hiak.

These MUJI-inspired bowls are a clean and classic option for tableware. They also have the added bonus of making your food look better in photos (because you know you love taking #onthetable photos of your home cooked lunch).

Okay, so how many heart shaped bowls have you seen on Instagram already? They used to be available at (the now closed) Franc Franc, but you can get them on Taobao too. There are several different sizes and they are relatively inexpensive, so you can use them for everything from dessert tables to wedding decorations.

A slightly different variation of this heart bowl is also available here.

Scandinavian-style seems to be all the rage in interior design these days, and this monochrome cushion case suits the theme perfectly. It doesn’t come with the cushion itself though, but you can easily get standard 50cm x 50cm pillows from IKEA.

I don’t know if it’s because of Singapore’s weather, but finding a decent rug (that’s not overpriced) around here is a real task sometimes. Enter Taobao, the answer to your home decoration woes. This particular seller also lists the weight of the rug (how thoughtful), so you can estimate your shipping cost as well.

Instead of dreaming about Pinterest-worthy parties, why not have your own? These ball lights (no idea what they’re really called, so let’s just call them ball lights OK) look great on the floor, or dangling down from the ceiling or windows. You can also hang several strings together to form a cool backdrop for photos.

If you’re into zen-like home design, this standing floor lamp might be right up your alley. It seems to be quite highly rated too, so check out the customer reviews for more details and photos of the actual item.

Handy Search Terms

Home Decoration 家居装饰

Scandinavian style 北欧现代 (Scandinavian modern)

Striped Carpet 条纹地毯

Striped Rug 条纹地毯

Ball Lamp 球灯

Scandinavian Modern Lamp 北欧现代 灯

Floor Lamp (This literally translates to ‘Modern Living Room Standing Lamp’ because when it comes to Taobao, specifics matter A LOT. You might be 2 Chinese characters away from a really obiang lamp.) 现代客厅落地灯